Well, we went to Universal yesterday.
Had a great time there on all the rides, especially the rollercoasters. Although Matt got sick and threw up by the time night came along, after Shrek. Lol.
And it was great considering we could cut to the front of the queue - can't say why. So there was really no waiting time and we managed to ride all the rides in one day.
Anyways, we're heading out to Disney today. No such luck with the tickets so we're going to have to get stuck in the long queues, especially being a Saturday today, it's going to be longgggg...
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Friday, December 29, 2006
Passion: Chapter Two - Orlando, Florida
Well. I've finally reached.
Yesterday actually.
But I just found the time to post today.
Anyways, after leaving Korea, we sat on an 11-hour flight. And as part of my plan to escape jet-lag, I stayed awake watching several movies. I think I watched something like 5 movies.
Then we reached LA. And the immigration queue was long. Longgggggggggggggggggggggggg.
We had two hours to catch a connecting flight. We escaped immigration after an hour. We took an extra 15 minutes to get through customs. And then a long run to the Delta terminal to catch our connecting flight. Problem was the flight had closed off because we had arrived after 45 minutes before the flight. So we could not get our boarding passes. But we had checked in our luggage. SO it was on its way to orlando without us.
Bleargh. Next flight - 10.44 pm.
Current time - 10.44 am
Yep. 12 hour wait at LAX. The longest time of my life. Cushions weren't even fit to sleep on, unlike korea. So it was torture.
But eventually the 12 hours were up and we got on our domestic flight to orlando.
Then I broke yet another record. Sitting in the longest taxi ever. I had no watch but I think it was 45 minutes or something.
Yet we did eventually reach Orlando to much relief. Got picked up from the airport - we didn't have to wait for our luggage seeing it was already in storage having arrived 12 hours earlier.
And thus we arrived at Matt's grandma's place, with breakfast ready. Had quite a meal before leaving to go round town on a drive. Went around to see a short insight into his life here in America. Had a great lunch at a BBQ joint. And then we went fishing. Well actually Matt and his friends went fishing - me and Tim stood around watching and dozing off slightly. Got quite a good dose of the outdoors.
Got back to his grandma's place for dinner with his extended family and then I conked out early, at 8.30 i think.
Woke up this morning at 7. Just had breakfast and now we're planning the rest of the day.
That's all from me.
Yesterday actually.
But I just found the time to post today.
Anyways, after leaving Korea, we sat on an 11-hour flight. And as part of my plan to escape jet-lag, I stayed awake watching several movies. I think I watched something like 5 movies.
Then we reached LA. And the immigration queue was long. Longgggggggggggggggggggggggg.
We had two hours to catch a connecting flight. We escaped immigration after an hour. We took an extra 15 minutes to get through customs. And then a long run to the Delta terminal to catch our connecting flight. Problem was the flight had closed off because we had arrived after 45 minutes before the flight. So we could not get our boarding passes. But we had checked in our luggage. SO it was on its way to orlando without us.
Bleargh. Next flight - 10.44 pm.
Current time - 10.44 am
Yep. 12 hour wait at LAX. The longest time of my life. Cushions weren't even fit to sleep on, unlike korea. So it was torture.
But eventually the 12 hours were up and we got on our domestic flight to orlando.
Then I broke yet another record. Sitting in the longest taxi ever. I had no watch but I think it was 45 minutes or something.
Yet we did eventually reach Orlando to much relief. Got picked up from the airport - we didn't have to wait for our luggage seeing it was already in storage having arrived 12 hours earlier.
And thus we arrived at Matt's grandma's place, with breakfast ready. Had quite a meal before leaving to go round town on a drive. Went around to see a short insight into his life here in America. Had a great lunch at a BBQ joint. And then we went fishing. Well actually Matt and his friends went fishing - me and Tim stood around watching and dozing off slightly. Got quite a good dose of the outdoors.
Got back to his grandma's place for dinner with his extended family and then I conked out early, at 8.30 i think.
Woke up this morning at 7. Just had breakfast and now we're planning the rest of the day.
That's all from me.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Passion: Chapter One - Live from Korea
Ok. the shift key is a bit messed up here. so i'm going to have to type in small letters.
anyways, reached korea 5 hours ago. slept at the gate for about 3 hours. and just had lunch.
had quite an adventure checking in at klia though.
i didn't bring my middle passport and they couldn't trace my childhood visa to my current passport. so my bro had to speed home and back in order to bring it to me.
lol
anyways, my flight is leaving in 2 hours. and i have 22 minutes left on my internet connection here.
i don't think i have anything more to say
will post when i reach orlando
next stop: LA.
let's hope immigration doesn't cause us any trouble there
anyways, reached korea 5 hours ago. slept at the gate for about 3 hours. and just had lunch.
had quite an adventure checking in at klia though.
i didn't bring my middle passport and they couldn't trace my childhood visa to my current passport. so my bro had to speed home and back in order to bring it to me.
lol
anyways, my flight is leaving in 2 hours. and i have 22 minutes left on my internet connection here.
i don't think i have anything more to say
will post when i reach orlando
next stop: LA.
let's hope immigration doesn't cause us any trouble there
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Christmas: A Tale of Hope, Part I
In the Christian calendar, we have two very special dates. One is Christmas, which celebrates the birth of Jesus, and the other is Easter Sunday, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. Of course we do have Good Friday, where we remember the crucifixion of Jesus. But generally, I mean two significant periods, one detailing the death and resurrection, and the other the birth of Jesus.
It's been 2000+ years since the first Christmas. If we take the birth year of Jesus to be roughly 6/5 B.C, then it has been 2012/2011 years.
And in that time, the embodiment of Christmas has undergone a radical transformation.
But first, the historical origins of Christmas. I did some brief research regarding this issue. And I got quite a bit of interesting material. For those who have read the Da Vinci Code, or was it Angels and Demons? - can't quite remember, there's a mention there regarding Christmas originating from a pagan festival, and how early Christianity incorporated early culture, and all that nonsense, which then spins a web of lies about how Christianity is nothing more than a myth, blah blah blah.
Well. I have not been able to ascertain whether that is true. But most historians seem to agree that while the year of the birth of Jesus has been roughly pinpointed, the actual date of Jesus' birth was not discussed until the fourth century. Some believe he was born in the spring, some in late summer/early autumn, some Jewish Christians claim it is March 25, 33 years to the date he died, and so on so forth.
But when it comes down to it, whether Christmas is really the accurate date of birth of Jesus or not, it is a symbolic event of the birth of Jesus. In other words, it sets aside a date, a period, where we can gather to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour 2000 years ago. After all, while we might debate about the actual dates, or the controversial origins of Christmas, there is no grounds to doubt that at some point in our history, God became man and dwelled with us.
Emmanuel. God with us.
Today, the world, through crass commercialisation, has distorted the true meaning of Christmas. It's about presents. If you're nice, Santa will give you what you want. If you're naughty, Santa will send his evil sidekick to scare you/or give you coal - depends which side of the story you lie. Of course, we have those feel good movies, that Christmas is a time for the family to build stronger and deeper relationships, a value which I wholly endorse, but this good intent has shrouded the true meaning of Christmas. And for some, Christmas is just yet another holiday.
It's a sad sad fact, that something as beautiful as this point in time, when God fulfilled His promise of sending His people a messiah who would deliver them, has been warped by worldly influences. Even the meaningful Christmas carols such as Joy to the World, or Hark! the Herald Angels Sing, have been reduced to mere Christmas jingles. So much so that it has lost much of its original meaning and significance.
The focus of Christmas is Jesus, Greek for "The Lord saves". It is a new beginning.
I think I'll conclude this first part with this quote:
"The beginning is the end is the beginning".
Lol. That confounded me when I read it the first time. Wrap your head around that phrase for a few hours. And that concludes the first part of my weekend post.
It's been 2000+ years since the first Christmas. If we take the birth year of Jesus to be roughly 6/5 B.C, then it has been 2012/2011 years.
And in that time, the embodiment of Christmas has undergone a radical transformation.
But first, the historical origins of Christmas. I did some brief research regarding this issue. And I got quite a bit of interesting material. For those who have read the Da Vinci Code, or was it Angels and Demons? - can't quite remember, there's a mention there regarding Christmas originating from a pagan festival, and how early Christianity incorporated early culture, and all that nonsense, which then spins a web of lies about how Christianity is nothing more than a myth, blah blah blah.
Well. I have not been able to ascertain whether that is true. But most historians seem to agree that while the year of the birth of Jesus has been roughly pinpointed, the actual date of Jesus' birth was not discussed until the fourth century. Some believe he was born in the spring, some in late summer/early autumn, some Jewish Christians claim it is March 25, 33 years to the date he died, and so on so forth.
But when it comes down to it, whether Christmas is really the accurate date of birth of Jesus or not, it is a symbolic event of the birth of Jesus. In other words, it sets aside a date, a period, where we can gather to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour 2000 years ago. After all, while we might debate about the actual dates, or the controversial origins of Christmas, there is no grounds to doubt that at some point in our history, God became man and dwelled with us.
Emmanuel. God with us.
Today, the world, through crass commercialisation, has distorted the true meaning of Christmas. It's about presents. If you're nice, Santa will give you what you want. If you're naughty, Santa will send his evil sidekick to scare you/or give you coal - depends which side of the story you lie. Of course, we have those feel good movies, that Christmas is a time for the family to build stronger and deeper relationships, a value which I wholly endorse, but this good intent has shrouded the true meaning of Christmas. And for some, Christmas is just yet another holiday.
It's a sad sad fact, that something as beautiful as this point in time, when God fulfilled His promise of sending His people a messiah who would deliver them, has been warped by worldly influences. Even the meaningful Christmas carols such as Joy to the World, or Hark! the Herald Angels Sing, have been reduced to mere Christmas jingles. So much so that it has lost much of its original meaning and significance.
The focus of Christmas is Jesus, Greek for "The Lord saves". It is a new beginning.
I think I'll conclude this first part with this quote:
"The beginning is the end is the beginning".
Lol. That confounded me when I read it the first time. Wrap your head around that phrase for a few hours. And that concludes the first part of my weekend post.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
A new record
One post a day seems quite hard to maintain when there are those days you are too tired to think.
Hm. In light of that fact, I'm adopting a new format. I'll post 2 part posts every weekend, and post a minimum of two posts every alternating day. If I'm feeling quite creative then expect the posting to increase.
I expect this new format to be temporary while I regain my full creative powers over Christmas.
As for now, this is it.
My shortest post ever.
Hm. In light of that fact, I'm adopting a new format. I'll post 2 part posts every weekend, and post a minimum of two posts every alternating day. If I'm feeling quite creative then expect the posting to increase.
I expect this new format to be temporary while I regain my full creative powers over Christmas.
As for now, this is it.
My shortest post ever.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
The irony of sleeping late
First of all I have to say it's pretty ironic that this post came around because of my decision to sleep at that time yesterday.
Anyways, it seems that the body is a funny thing.
Anyone who sleeps late and wakes up early the next day would naturally feel tired.
The irony is that, for me, if I sleep late really late, then I don't feel quite so tired the next day. But if I sleep late too early then I'm more or less dead the next morning.
For example, I discovered that sleeping past midnight, while definitely unhealthy, left me pretty much wide awake the next morning in school. In stark contrast, when I decided to go to bed at 11, I was dead tired the next morning.
Of course I logically concluded that perhaps there was another underlying trend. Perhaps my lack of sleep the previous days had caught up with me.
Doubt it. I read somewhere that you can't 'transfer' sleep. But I guess the best reason for this behaviour is that when levels of sleep drop really low, my body compensates by going hyperactive, almost sustaining itself on self-created caffeine. Which is probably bad for my health.
Anyways, after all that rambling, the moral of the story would be to sleep early. After all, I read that not having enough sleep leads to poorer memory functions, obesity, poor attention span, e.t.c.
Anyways, it seems that the body is a funny thing.
Anyone who sleeps late and wakes up early the next day would naturally feel tired.
The irony is that, for me, if I sleep late really late, then I don't feel quite so tired the next day. But if I sleep late too early then I'm more or less dead the next morning.
For example, I discovered that sleeping past midnight, while definitely unhealthy, left me pretty much wide awake the next morning in school. In stark contrast, when I decided to go to bed at 11, I was dead tired the next morning.
Of course I logically concluded that perhaps there was another underlying trend. Perhaps my lack of sleep the previous days had caught up with me.
Doubt it. I read somewhere that you can't 'transfer' sleep. But I guess the best reason for this behaviour is that when levels of sleep drop really low, my body compensates by going hyperactive, almost sustaining itself on self-created caffeine. Which is probably bad for my health.
Anyways, after all that rambling, the moral of the story would be to sleep early. After all, I read that not having enough sleep leads to poorer memory functions, obesity, poor attention span, e.t.c.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Blank
Haha. Feeling a bit tired. So not much going through my head at the moment.
Anyways, this feels a bit superficial, trying to maintain my one post a day with this random mumbo-jumbo.
But let's see what I can sift out of my brain.
Christmas is coming.
And I don't seem to feel the Christmas spirit yet.
I feel so unenthused.
What is the real meaning of Christmas - to me?
Going to have to think about that one. So expect something on that in the next week or so.
Outside of that, I have US applications wandering through my head. Haha. I have to think of how to write an essay as to reveal something about me. Perhaps that's why so much of my blogging creativity is being diverted.
Well enough mumbo jumbo from me. I need my sleep now.
Anyways, this feels a bit superficial, trying to maintain my one post a day with this random mumbo-jumbo.
But let's see what I can sift out of my brain.
Christmas is coming.
And I don't seem to feel the Christmas spirit yet.
I feel so unenthused.
What is the real meaning of Christmas - to me?
Going to have to think about that one. So expect something on that in the next week or so.
Outside of that, I have US applications wandering through my head. Haha. I have to think of how to write an essay as to reveal something about me. Perhaps that's why so much of my blogging creativity is being diverted.
Well enough mumbo jumbo from me. I need my sleep now.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Old and new mechanics, Part II
As promised.
...
3. Find balance
It's one thing to adopt methods to deal with self-induced stress. It's another thing to handle externally imposed stress.
The most common example of such a source will be your parent.
The obvious solution would be to talk to your parents about any unrealistic expectations they might have for you.
Of course that never always works. So here comes my conceived theory of balancing.
Technically, I have never had any need for it myself because my parents aren't the demanding type. But it should work in theory.
If your parents expectations can't change, then change your lifestyle. If you're doing all the studying your parents expect, yet can't get that unrealistic grade, well, not much they can say.
Haha. Right... Parents aren't as clear cut as that. They always demand more, thinking that their kid should be sitting in front of a book all day. So here comes the act of 'creating a new balance', or really a nicer way to say compromise. Find the activities you really want to do, and promise your parents that in exchange for them giving permission for you to do those things, you will promise to spend your time doing whatever they want you to do.
But again, not very exhaustive. There are so many different circumstances, that one method can't tackle it all.
However, I think it's important to note how externally-imposed stress can fuel self-induced stress. For example, while your parents will demand highly of you, you won't necessarily get stressed out by that, because if you simply can't meet their demands but do your very best, then there's nothing to get stressed out about. The problem arises when the expectations of your parents become your expectations, not necessarily expectations of a specific grade but that you feel expected to fulfill their wishes.
Of course again that doesn't necessarily hold true. Sometimes you just need to be patient. I believe that no loving parent would intentionally stress out their kid, it's most likely out of ignorance. And this is no excuse for you to not fulfill your obligation to them either. If you're always out partying or something, then you're to blame.
4. Adopt the vertical approach
After all that blah-blah-ing above, how do I personally handle my life with regard to this? That I just seem to avoid stress totally?
Well, some part of it is due to the fact that I'm smart, which means that I seldom have trouble studying, but then again smart people do get stressed, no?
And thus the vertical approach:
Jesus gives a promise to all who believe in Him: "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you". Tied in to that, Paul reassures us that "in all things God works together for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose". And the message is just really simple: put God first, and the rest of your life will fall into place. The catch is that what you think might be good for you, is never necessarily that which God knows is definitely best for you. And why settle for good when you can have the best?
And those that put God first tend to seek to excel in all they do. When I use the word excel, I mean to give the best you can in whatever you do. You heard of that adage "God helps those who helps themselves"? That is the biggest lie ever. Well. Not biggest. But it's a lie, portraying a pretty selfish God. The truth is that God helps those who seek His help. And the word seek does not just mean asking for help. Seek is an active word, which implies going out and doing your part, but relying on God for His strength and assistance.
That is the 'secret' to my success thus far. And if I was trying to find a universal method to deal with stress, who better to turn to than that which encompasses all, past, present and future? That even if one day I should fail, He loves me all the same reassures me that life will go on.
Thought I'd post something here I heard the other day.
Total
Reliance +
Unconditional
Surrender =
Torrential Blessings
In God we trust.
That's quite a funny line, deviating from the topic slightly. Some may recognise it, especially Americans. Sadly, they gave that up a long time ago.
Well, that's all from me.
...
3. Find balance
It's one thing to adopt methods to deal with self-induced stress. It's another thing to handle externally imposed stress.
The most common example of such a source will be your parent.
The obvious solution would be to talk to your parents about any unrealistic expectations they might have for you.
Of course that never always works. So here comes my conceived theory of balancing.
Technically, I have never had any need for it myself because my parents aren't the demanding type. But it should work in theory.
If your parents expectations can't change, then change your lifestyle. If you're doing all the studying your parents expect, yet can't get that unrealistic grade, well, not much they can say.
Haha. Right... Parents aren't as clear cut as that. They always demand more, thinking that their kid should be sitting in front of a book all day. So here comes the act of 'creating a new balance', or really a nicer way to say compromise. Find the activities you really want to do, and promise your parents that in exchange for them giving permission for you to do those things, you will promise to spend your time doing whatever they want you to do.
But again, not very exhaustive. There are so many different circumstances, that one method can't tackle it all.
However, I think it's important to note how externally-imposed stress can fuel self-induced stress. For example, while your parents will demand highly of you, you won't necessarily get stressed out by that, because if you simply can't meet their demands but do your very best, then there's nothing to get stressed out about. The problem arises when the expectations of your parents become your expectations, not necessarily expectations of a specific grade but that you feel expected to fulfill their wishes.
Of course again that doesn't necessarily hold true. Sometimes you just need to be patient. I believe that no loving parent would intentionally stress out their kid, it's most likely out of ignorance. And this is no excuse for you to not fulfill your obligation to them either. If you're always out partying or something, then you're to blame.
4. Adopt the vertical approach
After all that blah-blah-ing above, how do I personally handle my life with regard to this? That I just seem to avoid stress totally?
Well, some part of it is due to the fact that I'm smart, which means that I seldom have trouble studying, but then again smart people do get stressed, no?
And thus the vertical approach:
Jesus gives a promise to all who believe in Him: "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you". Tied in to that, Paul reassures us that "in all things God works together for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose". And the message is just really simple: put God first, and the rest of your life will fall into place. The catch is that what you think might be good for you, is never necessarily that which God knows is definitely best for you. And why settle for good when you can have the best?
And those that put God first tend to seek to excel in all they do. When I use the word excel, I mean to give the best you can in whatever you do. You heard of that adage "God helps those who helps themselves"? That is the biggest lie ever. Well. Not biggest. But it's a lie, portraying a pretty selfish God. The truth is that God helps those who seek His help. And the word seek does not just mean asking for help. Seek is an active word, which implies going out and doing your part, but relying on God for His strength and assistance.
That is the 'secret' to my success thus far. And if I was trying to find a universal method to deal with stress, who better to turn to than that which encompasses all, past, present and future? That even if one day I should fail, He loves me all the same reassures me that life will go on.
Thought I'd post something here I heard the other day.
Total
Reliance +
Unconditional
Surrender =
Torrential Blessings
In God we trust.
That's quite a funny line, deviating from the topic slightly. Some may recognise it, especially Americans. Sadly, they gave that up a long time ago.
Well, that's all from me.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Apologies
I'm extremely sorry by my inability to complete tonight's post, Part 2 of yesterday's.
This is due to some miscalculation on my part regarding the time I would have.
Anyways, the post will go up tomorrow. No worries.
Then I might enter a slight hiatus, as I step up my progress in my US applications.
But that bit is in the uncertain future anyways.
And it seems that I might be conceding ground in the blogosphere competition arena. Due to the advent of webcam and digital video technology as well as the utilisation of YouTube hosting and distribution mechanics.
In this 'MTV generation', the power of video to conquer is a sad fact.
Don't expect it here anytime soon, being the traditionalist dinosaur blogger that I am. And that I'm not planning to conform to 'populist blog trends'. Until I find a revolutionary way to combine video with my tendency to be 'intellectually-oriented', a nicer way to phrase 'heavy chunks', posts.
This is due to some miscalculation on my part regarding the time I would have.
Anyways, the post will go up tomorrow. No worries.
Then I might enter a slight hiatus, as I step up my progress in my US applications.
But that bit is in the uncertain future anyways.
And it seems that I might be conceding ground in the blogosphere competition arena. Due to the advent of webcam and digital video technology as well as the utilisation of YouTube hosting and distribution mechanics.
In this 'MTV generation', the power of video to conquer is a sad fact.
Don't expect it here anytime soon, being the traditionalist dinosaur blogger that I am. And that I'm not planning to conform to 'populist blog trends'. Until I find a revolutionary way to combine video with my tendency to be 'intellectually-oriented', a nicer way to phrase 'heavy chunks', posts.
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Old and new mechanics
Firstly, new mechanics: I shall split my weekend posts into a part 1 and part 2. To keep the posts shorter. And because I don't have the time to write 2 separate posts. The irony indeed. No time on weekends? Sorry, spent at church.
Lol. As if everyone actually reads my whole thing. Of course, I realise that some people do.
Now, old mechanics. And the thought of the day.
The mechanics of stress.
A-ha. Am I going to come up with the universal answer to stress?
I'm not sure at this point. This post is just going to flow out of my head, so forgive me if the direction of it seems flimsy (or my other posts for that matter).
What is stress? I always seem to start with this classic question - what, for those who are beginning to spot similar patterns in all my posts.
Well, I think I'll try to define this word myself. Stress is the toil, the strain on your body, mind, emotions and soul by an activity that exceeds your current state of being. It's not that you can't push past what you're comfortably capable of, it's just that it comes with 'stress'. It's like a rubber band being pulled in all directions, and as stress sets in, you see the colour thin. Put in enough stress, and it snaps.
So the solution would seem to be: Stick within your capabilities.
Well that's the easy way out.
I always say push yourself. But don't do it to the detriment of everything else. In other words, don't let stress conquer you. Push your limits and conquer that stress.
Now, I am pretty sure I come across as a non-stressed person. Which is true. Cos I don't suffer from stress. I suffer from lack of sleep at times yes, but I don't let it turn into stress. I just transfer sleep time to times I should not be sleeping, like in some classes. And between lessons. Of course, I highly recommend not sleeping in class. I just do it in CERTAIN lessons, when I'm really wasting my time listening to a really useless lesson, which does happen, albeit rarely, i.e. once a week.
So that establishes my credentials to make a comment about this topic.
And here are the ways to deal with stress:
1. Establish the nature of stress
To conquer stress, you must first identify where it originates from. For example, a common factor of stress nowadays is in school, and all the studying. And since most of you reading this are students, well, might as well keep the post relevant in that sense.
Now, identifying the origin of stress is not as simple as saying it's the amount of studying. More likely it is the pressure of expectations, regardless of its origin, usually in the form of achieving a minimum grade, the reality of time constraints enforced by other responsibilities and the common factor uniting stress: worry.
Yep. Don't believe me? Next time you get stressed, tell me how much you worry. Worry about whether you can finish your studying. Worry about the nature of the examination question. Worry about achieving the grade you need. Worry, worry, worry.
Generally, stress manifests in two forms: self-induced stress and externally-imposed stress.
2. Conquer thyself
Let's address the issue of self-induced stress.
Now this will most definitely not be a comprehensive guide to tackling every single possible factor causing stress, but I'll try my utmost best to emphasise principles rather than methodology.
Again, let's go back to the ones mentioned above. Take expectations. Expectations are, well, expected. You just have to live with the reality that there will always be expectations. The way you handle it is to channel those expectations in such a way as to maximise your abilities. Haha.
Sounds profound? Not really. Essentially, with your personal expectations, it's best to be realistic, and instead of studying towards achieving those, study such that you can achieve it. Don't make an A grade the objective of your studying; rather study such that you put yourself in prime position to achieve that grade.
OK. That sounded crap. Let me put it another way. It's not so much the final destination, but the journey that matters. If you put yourself on the right course, you will reach your intended destination. In other words, if you're looking to achieve an A, but you're not studying such that you can do so, you're being unrealistic. But if you are studying such that you can achieve the most out of what you study, then you will get an A provided you have the ability to do so.
And really, I did sidestep the issue, but worry factors into the above point as well. You can worry so much about the intended destination, that you pay no attention to our current journey. In colloquial terms (note the irony of the word colloquial. It really just means informal, conversational, everyday language, yet we never use that word much), you focus so much on the A, that you forget how to get that A.
Expanding on this issue of worry, we have to realise that there is not much basis for worry. To me, everything is done and dusted, leaving no room for worry. I wonder, but I don't worry. I get myself worked up enough to the point where my mind is alert and fully operational, but I never let it overwork itself with unnecessary worry. The key is to achieve the right level of nerves.
And just to emphasise how worry creates a huge part of self-induced stress, one of the key components of stress is summed up in the phrase: So much to do, but so little time with which to do so. It's all about time. And worry only adds to the time. The key is to not focus on the much, but be realistic and approach it in appropriate proportions. Don't overdo yourself. And when you are in prime position to take on the 'much', you have little to worry about. Be confident in your approach, and your destination is assured.
I also realise that a lot of self-induced stress, is due to competitive pressures, namely from peers. Always wanting to do better than the other person is stupid. It's like a race. You never look at your competitors to see where they are. An athlete would say that is the stupidest thing in a race, because it will make you lose. Stay focused on the running and eventually you'll hit that finish line. If your running is fantastic, you'll beat them. If not, you still ran your best and there's no way you could have done any better, unless you took drugs. So quit worrying about always being the best.
Of course there are a lot of other ways that can help conquer, and even prevent from the outset, self-induced stress. I'll just regurgitate a list of thoughts. Be organised, be prepared and enjoy yourself.
Haha. Enjoy yourself. That's the key bit. Stress is inevitable when you hate what you're doing. I've yet to see someone stressed by something they enjoy doing.
And what's a post from me without the Christian grounding? The key to conquering worry is to not worry at all. God will take care of your future, your destination. He has it all planned out. You only need to focus on the journey. Life is like a race. Keep running in the direction you're heading at the moment. God is like a 'Dopod' (A navigating device that uses GPS technology and mapping to help you reach your destination): He's your navigator, telling you where to run. All you have to do is focus on your running and listen to the directions. The path will not always be easy going; there will be those uphill rough moments - life ain't always pretty, but the view at the end of the path is nothing short of wholly satisfying. Just keep to the track. Remember that God's directions won't always appear rational to you at first. But if you can trust a Dopod to give you the right directions, what more the creator of you? And well, dont forget to fill up on God's strength. Keep yourself energised, able to run the race of life.
This concludes part 1 of the post. Tomorrow, I shall address externally-imposed stress, which is equally a real issue, especially with this kiasu-ness permeating our culture.
Lol. As if everyone actually reads my whole thing. Of course, I realise that some people do.
Now, old mechanics. And the thought of the day.
The mechanics of stress.
A-ha. Am I going to come up with the universal answer to stress?
I'm not sure at this point. This post is just going to flow out of my head, so forgive me if the direction of it seems flimsy (or my other posts for that matter).
What is stress? I always seem to start with this classic question - what, for those who are beginning to spot similar patterns in all my posts.
Well, I think I'll try to define this word myself. Stress is the toil, the strain on your body, mind, emotions and soul by an activity that exceeds your current state of being. It's not that you can't push past what you're comfortably capable of, it's just that it comes with 'stress'. It's like a rubber band being pulled in all directions, and as stress sets in, you see the colour thin. Put in enough stress, and it snaps.
So the solution would seem to be: Stick within your capabilities.
Well that's the easy way out.
I always say push yourself. But don't do it to the detriment of everything else. In other words, don't let stress conquer you. Push your limits and conquer that stress.
Now, I am pretty sure I come across as a non-stressed person. Which is true. Cos I don't suffer from stress. I suffer from lack of sleep at times yes, but I don't let it turn into stress. I just transfer sleep time to times I should not be sleeping, like in some classes. And between lessons. Of course, I highly recommend not sleeping in class. I just do it in CERTAIN lessons, when I'm really wasting my time listening to a really useless lesson, which does happen, albeit rarely, i.e. once a week.
So that establishes my credentials to make a comment about this topic.
And here are the ways to deal with stress:
1. Establish the nature of stress
To conquer stress, you must first identify where it originates from. For example, a common factor of stress nowadays is in school, and all the studying. And since most of you reading this are students, well, might as well keep the post relevant in that sense.
Now, identifying the origin of stress is not as simple as saying it's the amount of studying. More likely it is the pressure of expectations, regardless of its origin, usually in the form of achieving a minimum grade, the reality of time constraints enforced by other responsibilities and the common factor uniting stress: worry.
Yep. Don't believe me? Next time you get stressed, tell me how much you worry. Worry about whether you can finish your studying. Worry about the nature of the examination question. Worry about achieving the grade you need. Worry, worry, worry.
Generally, stress manifests in two forms: self-induced stress and externally-imposed stress.
2. Conquer thyself
Let's address the issue of self-induced stress.
Now this will most definitely not be a comprehensive guide to tackling every single possible factor causing stress, but I'll try my utmost best to emphasise principles rather than methodology.
Again, let's go back to the ones mentioned above. Take expectations. Expectations are, well, expected. You just have to live with the reality that there will always be expectations. The way you handle it is to channel those expectations in such a way as to maximise your abilities. Haha.
Sounds profound? Not really. Essentially, with your personal expectations, it's best to be realistic, and instead of studying towards achieving those, study such that you can achieve it. Don't make an A grade the objective of your studying; rather study such that you put yourself in prime position to achieve that grade.
OK. That sounded crap. Let me put it another way. It's not so much the final destination, but the journey that matters. If you put yourself on the right course, you will reach your intended destination. In other words, if you're looking to achieve an A, but you're not studying such that you can do so, you're being unrealistic. But if you are studying such that you can achieve the most out of what you study, then you will get an A provided you have the ability to do so.
And really, I did sidestep the issue, but worry factors into the above point as well. You can worry so much about the intended destination, that you pay no attention to our current journey. In colloquial terms (note the irony of the word colloquial. It really just means informal, conversational, everyday language, yet we never use that word much), you focus so much on the A, that you forget how to get that A.
Expanding on this issue of worry, we have to realise that there is not much basis for worry. To me, everything is done and dusted, leaving no room for worry. I wonder, but I don't worry. I get myself worked up enough to the point where my mind is alert and fully operational, but I never let it overwork itself with unnecessary worry. The key is to achieve the right level of nerves.
And just to emphasise how worry creates a huge part of self-induced stress, one of the key components of stress is summed up in the phrase: So much to do, but so little time with which to do so. It's all about time. And worry only adds to the time. The key is to not focus on the much, but be realistic and approach it in appropriate proportions. Don't overdo yourself. And when you are in prime position to take on the 'much', you have little to worry about. Be confident in your approach, and your destination is assured.
I also realise that a lot of self-induced stress, is due to competitive pressures, namely from peers. Always wanting to do better than the other person is stupid. It's like a race. You never look at your competitors to see where they are. An athlete would say that is the stupidest thing in a race, because it will make you lose. Stay focused on the running and eventually you'll hit that finish line. If your running is fantastic, you'll beat them. If not, you still ran your best and there's no way you could have done any better, unless you took drugs. So quit worrying about always being the best.
Of course there are a lot of other ways that can help conquer, and even prevent from the outset, self-induced stress. I'll just regurgitate a list of thoughts. Be organised, be prepared and enjoy yourself.
Haha. Enjoy yourself. That's the key bit. Stress is inevitable when you hate what you're doing. I've yet to see someone stressed by something they enjoy doing.
And what's a post from me without the Christian grounding? The key to conquering worry is to not worry at all. God will take care of your future, your destination. He has it all planned out. You only need to focus on the journey. Life is like a race. Keep running in the direction you're heading at the moment. God is like a 'Dopod' (A navigating device that uses GPS technology and mapping to help you reach your destination): He's your navigator, telling you where to run. All you have to do is focus on your running and listen to the directions. The path will not always be easy going; there will be those uphill rough moments - life ain't always pretty, but the view at the end of the path is nothing short of wholly satisfying. Just keep to the track. Remember that God's directions won't always appear rational to you at first. But if you can trust a Dopod to give you the right directions, what more the creator of you? And well, dont forget to fill up on God's strength. Keep yourself energised, able to run the race of life.
This concludes part 1 of the post. Tomorrow, I shall address externally-imposed stress, which is equally a real issue, especially with this kiasu-ness permeating our culture.
Friday, December 08, 2006
A millennium milestone
This blog was started on October 09 2006, just two months ago.
And now I shall be hitting my 1000th official visitor on the official counter.
Which is actually set such that it records the number of unique visitors every 12 hours.
So anyways, at the time of this posting, it's 999 visitors.
Are you the 1000th?
And now I shall be hitting my 1000th official visitor on the official counter.
Which is actually set such that it records the number of unique visitors every 12 hours.
So anyways, at the time of this posting, it's 999 visitors.
Are you the 1000th?
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Hope rising.
Today's post is on a concept.
I've done love, although quite incompletely. Anyways, today's concept is hope.
What does hope mean?
Here's what wikipedia had to say:
Hope is an emotional belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances within one's personal life. Hope implies a certain amount of perseverance —ie. believing that a positive outcome is possible even when there is some evidence to the contrary.
Hope is more emotional and less intellectual than optimism, which refers to a positive attitude based in rationality. But hope and optimism both can be based in unrealistic belief, or fantasy.
I quite liked the above description as well. But for reasons entirely different to what you might expect.
What examples of hope do we have nowadays? Hope of good grades? A good career? Man Utd winning the Premiership AND Champions League (not an unfounded hope by the way :P) ? Hope that the game we're playing later doesn't get rained off?
Let's see whether this fits our wiki-criteria above. Are they positive outcomes? Definitely. Do they imply a certain amount of perseverance? Yes. We have contrary evidence such as a lack of preparation, a lack of certainty.
Yet let's take a look at the definitions before that. Do we expect and desire the above? Duh. That's what hope is.
Isn't it?
'To look forward to with confidence and expectation'. Note that there is certainty implied here. So really the hope we had above is wishful thinking, because we are definitely not 100% certain.
Yet does hope become irrelevant when we are 100% certain of the outcome?
No.
Let's go back to the wiki definition. Hope is an emotional belief. Note the word belief. It means that for hope to exist, we have got to believe in something. Hope is what we emotionally derived from that belief. Let's go to the second part of the definition, the implication of perseverance, a positive outcome that is possible despite evidence to the contrary. This is where the wiki definition starts dying out. When we place our hope in something, and that something is only possible, then well your hope is possibly false hope.
So now we're looking for true hope. And this is where the wiki-definition completely dies. "Hope is less intellectual than optimism, which refers to a positive attitude based in rationality". I couldn't disagree more. The fact that hope isn't intellectual, isn't rational is shallow thinking.
The thought of man who can never find the eternal hope.
As such all hope is fleeting to man. And this is where the difference between false hope and true hope lies. For hope to be true, it has to be done in the confidence that the expected outcome WILL take place. Otherwise, hope is falsely placed, without rationality. False hope.
So having gone some way to define what hope REALLY is, we return to the question: Is hope irrelevant when we are 100% certain of the outcome?
Again, I repeat the answer no. Because hope is not only the belief, it's also the emotional belief. It's the strength given to you when you believe that something is definitely going to happen. The only issue is when. And hope sustains you between now and 'when'. Hope is what helps you persevere. Hope describes the wait.
Hope that is transient, hope that is false carries us through the ocean that is life, from reef to reef. A temporary bright spot in an otherwise bleak outcome. Until we arrive at that eternal hope, the belief that land is just beyond the horizon, and no matter where the ship takes you, you will reach there eventually.
So even if I did not make sense above, here's the wrap up. (For people who always come straight to this last paragraph, please do at least read the paragraph above this) Find what your hope is in. Find that 100% source of hope. The eternal hope that never ceases. And having put your hope in something that is true, cling on to it. Cling on to the belief and the hope that gives you. And hold out. Because a greater hope will come.
Lol.
I sound so dark and moody in my posts. Haha. But I do want to say that contrary to that, I'm actually quite a happy person. Because of the hope that I have in my life. I am free to dance along the waves, through the calm and through the storm, because I am already assured that all this is temporary, a journey to the eternal promise of a better life.
"We have already won!" - We Win! by David Crowder Band
I've done love, although quite incompletely. Anyways, today's concept is hope.
What does hope mean?
- To expect and desire
- To look forward to with confidence or expectation
Here's what wikipedia had to say:
Hope is an emotional belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances within one's personal life. Hope implies a certain amount of perseverance —ie. believing that a positive outcome is possible even when there is some evidence to the contrary.
Hope is more emotional and less intellectual than optimism, which refers to a positive attitude based in rationality. But hope and optimism both can be based in unrealistic belief, or fantasy.
I quite liked the above description as well. But for reasons entirely different to what you might expect.
What examples of hope do we have nowadays? Hope of good grades? A good career? Man Utd winning the Premiership AND Champions League (not an unfounded hope by the way :P) ? Hope that the game we're playing later doesn't get rained off?
Let's see whether this fits our wiki-criteria above. Are they positive outcomes? Definitely. Do they imply a certain amount of perseverance? Yes. We have contrary evidence such as a lack of preparation, a lack of certainty.
Yet let's take a look at the definitions before that. Do we expect and desire the above? Duh. That's what hope is.
Isn't it?
'To look forward to with confidence and expectation'. Note that there is certainty implied here. So really the hope we had above is wishful thinking, because we are definitely not 100% certain.
Yet does hope become irrelevant when we are 100% certain of the outcome?
No.
Let's go back to the wiki definition. Hope is an emotional belief. Note the word belief. It means that for hope to exist, we have got to believe in something. Hope is what we emotionally derived from that belief. Let's go to the second part of the definition, the implication of perseverance, a positive outcome that is possible despite evidence to the contrary. This is where the wiki definition starts dying out. When we place our hope in something, and that something is only possible, then well your hope is possibly false hope.
So now we're looking for true hope. And this is where the wiki-definition completely dies. "Hope is less intellectual than optimism, which refers to a positive attitude based in rationality". I couldn't disagree more. The fact that hope isn't intellectual, isn't rational is shallow thinking.
The thought of man who can never find the eternal hope.
As such all hope is fleeting to man. And this is where the difference between false hope and true hope lies. For hope to be true, it has to be done in the confidence that the expected outcome WILL take place. Otherwise, hope is falsely placed, without rationality. False hope.
So having gone some way to define what hope REALLY is, we return to the question: Is hope irrelevant when we are 100% certain of the outcome?
Again, I repeat the answer no. Because hope is not only the belief, it's also the emotional belief. It's the strength given to you when you believe that something is definitely going to happen. The only issue is when. And hope sustains you between now and 'when'. Hope is what helps you persevere. Hope describes the wait.
Hope that is transient, hope that is false carries us through the ocean that is life, from reef to reef. A temporary bright spot in an otherwise bleak outcome. Until we arrive at that eternal hope, the belief that land is just beyond the horizon, and no matter where the ship takes you, you will reach there eventually.
So even if I did not make sense above, here's the wrap up. (For people who always come straight to this last paragraph, please do at least read the paragraph above this) Find what your hope is in. Find that 100% source of hope. The eternal hope that never ceases. And having put your hope in something that is true, cling on to it. Cling on to the belief and the hope that gives you. And hold out. Because a greater hope will come.
Lol.
I sound so dark and moody in my posts. Haha. But I do want to say that contrary to that, I'm actually quite a happy person. Because of the hope that I have in my life. I am free to dance along the waves, through the calm and through the storm, because I am already assured that all this is temporary, a journey to the eternal promise of a better life.
"We have already won!" - We Win! by David Crowder Band
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Satisfaction Guaranteed, Part I
Well, that title makes no sense at all.
Except for one thing.
There's no pleasing everybody, is there?
Lol. Some people complain posts are too long, some find them too heavy, some say that I am "succumbing to the populist blog trend" - or something along those lines.
Welll, time to set the record straight.
Firstly let's look at the title of my blog. You see, this blog was created with the intention of observing the reading culture of people today. Do people enjoy light insightful posts? Or some mumbo-jumbo? Or some really eccentric idea? Or deep spiritual thoughts?
And it seems that the result so far is: To each his own.
But anyways here is today's thought of the day:
Agnosticism.
There. Deep enough for you, Mr. "Succumbing to populist blog trends"?
Lol. Kidding.
Umm, anyways agnosticism, the belief that there is a God, but having nothing to do with Him. Basically it's a "I know you're up there but I dont bother you and therefore you dont bother me" kind of attitude. Sort of.
Also called the fence sitters, the group of people between atheism and theism.
Well, if they were fence sitters, we would need a very big fence. Because there's definitely a lot of them. Especially of people I know. People who believe in a God, but nothing beyond that.
I find that notion quite stupid. Sorry if that came across as insulting.
Let's use an illustration I saw on a video.
Imagine that all that is is in a box. We call it the cosmic cube, and in it is matter, energy and spirits. A physicist would tell you that in the physical sense, there is only matter and energy. And for those of you who believe in spirits, which I believe most do, we have therefore included the spirits.
Now where does God fit into that picture?
Some put him in the box, as a spirit. We therefore get our bear-gods, or monkey-gods, or whatever, which really are just matter-spirits.
Most agnostics place him outside the box.
Now this comes the crucial part of the illustration. We put God outside the box. What is His relationship to that in the box?
I won't have enough time to explore all the angles, and therefore this approach is not definitively complete, but let's give it a shot.
Some believe he created the cosmic cube. Some believe the cosmic cube and God have just always existed. This second view actually doesnt make sense, because if history stretches back to infinity, we are therefore living in the infinite future, and all that time-scale stuff just falls apart, and therefore there must be a definite beginning to the finite object. As the cosmic cube is finite, it must have come into being at some point. Applying the same logic to God, as he is the embodiment of infinity, the eternal Being, there's really no need to pinpoint his start and end.
Anyways, regardless of whichever people feel is true, here's where things begin to differ. Some people believe that God is not only outside the cube, but he is present and inside as well, in a two way relationship. He hears what we have to say and sees what is going on from the outside, and acts inside the cube. This two way relationship makes the most logical sense. Because let's look at the alternatives.
The first alternative is that God is looking and observing the cube but does not bother to act within the cube. Now, if you think hard about that, that would make him an irrelevant being, because if actions are only going one way, from the cube to God, but nothing is coming back, it would make logical sense to disclude him from everything.
The second alternative is that God is blind, a frantic director who has lost control of his set. This means God is involved in the cube, but is so utterly bewildered that he's not really observing the whole cube is he? Because if he was, then he would see everything, beginning to end, and everything should be within his control. Therefore, this doesnt seem to work either, because it reduces God to being within the cube, and not outside, and he's then no better off than being another spirit in a pantheistic world.
Well, what is the conclusion of all this? I know I havent really covered all my angles, but after all it's only a blog post. Yet, it seems that a lot of logic seems to be pointing towards the fact that not only is God outside the cube and in total control, but He is inside and working amongst us. Now, if we take that view - of course this assumes that you do believe a God, a bigger eternal entity exists - we are forced to make a decision. Either choose to ignore this fact, or deal with it. That if God is not only in control of everything but is amongst us and active, then how do you relate to Him?
Because the consequences of not deciding this are huge, as we shall examine in the next part of my series of thoughts over the next few days. We may ignore His presence, His sovereignty, but where does that leave us? Until tomorrow, this is all from me.
Oh yeah, one final unrelated thought. Was browsing through the online economist and came across this. Pretty funny, the opening paragraphs. Hope the ISA don't show up at my doorstep tomorrow.
http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8362605
Well, happy reading!
Except for one thing.
There's no pleasing everybody, is there?
Lol. Some people complain posts are too long, some find them too heavy, some say that I am "succumbing to the populist blog trend" - or something along those lines.
Welll, time to set the record straight.
Firstly let's look at the title of my blog. You see, this blog was created with the intention of observing the reading culture of people today. Do people enjoy light insightful posts? Or some mumbo-jumbo? Or some really eccentric idea? Or deep spiritual thoughts?
And it seems that the result so far is: To each his own.
But anyways here is today's thought of the day:
Agnosticism.
There. Deep enough for you, Mr. "Succumbing to populist blog trends"?
Lol. Kidding.
Umm, anyways agnosticism, the belief that there is a God, but having nothing to do with Him. Basically it's a "I know you're up there but I dont bother you and therefore you dont bother me" kind of attitude. Sort of.
Also called the fence sitters, the group of people between atheism and theism.
Well, if they were fence sitters, we would need a very big fence. Because there's definitely a lot of them. Especially of people I know. People who believe in a God, but nothing beyond that.
I find that notion quite stupid. Sorry if that came across as insulting.
Let's use an illustration I saw on a video.
Imagine that all that is is in a box. We call it the cosmic cube, and in it is matter, energy and spirits. A physicist would tell you that in the physical sense, there is only matter and energy. And for those of you who believe in spirits, which I believe most do, we have therefore included the spirits.
Now where does God fit into that picture?
Some put him in the box, as a spirit. We therefore get our bear-gods, or monkey-gods, or whatever, which really are just matter-spirits.
Most agnostics place him outside the box.
Now this comes the crucial part of the illustration. We put God outside the box. What is His relationship to that in the box?
I won't have enough time to explore all the angles, and therefore this approach is not definitively complete, but let's give it a shot.
Some believe he created the cosmic cube. Some believe the cosmic cube and God have just always existed. This second view actually doesnt make sense, because if history stretches back to infinity, we are therefore living in the infinite future, and all that time-scale stuff just falls apart, and therefore there must be a definite beginning to the finite object. As the cosmic cube is finite, it must have come into being at some point. Applying the same logic to God, as he is the embodiment of infinity, the eternal Being, there's really no need to pinpoint his start and end.
Anyways, regardless of whichever people feel is true, here's where things begin to differ. Some people believe that God is not only outside the cube, but he is present and inside as well, in a two way relationship. He hears what we have to say and sees what is going on from the outside, and acts inside the cube. This two way relationship makes the most logical sense. Because let's look at the alternatives.
The first alternative is that God is looking and observing the cube but does not bother to act within the cube. Now, if you think hard about that, that would make him an irrelevant being, because if actions are only going one way, from the cube to God, but nothing is coming back, it would make logical sense to disclude him from everything.
The second alternative is that God is blind, a frantic director who has lost control of his set. This means God is involved in the cube, but is so utterly bewildered that he's not really observing the whole cube is he? Because if he was, then he would see everything, beginning to end, and everything should be within his control. Therefore, this doesnt seem to work either, because it reduces God to being within the cube, and not outside, and he's then no better off than being another spirit in a pantheistic world.
Well, what is the conclusion of all this? I know I havent really covered all my angles, but after all it's only a blog post. Yet, it seems that a lot of logic seems to be pointing towards the fact that not only is God outside the cube and in total control, but He is inside and working amongst us. Now, if we take that view - of course this assumes that you do believe a God, a bigger eternal entity exists - we are forced to make a decision. Either choose to ignore this fact, or deal with it. That if God is not only in control of everything but is amongst us and active, then how do you relate to Him?
Because the consequences of not deciding this are huge, as we shall examine in the next part of my series of thoughts over the next few days. We may ignore His presence, His sovereignty, but where does that leave us? Until tomorrow, this is all from me.
Oh yeah, one final unrelated thought. Was browsing through the online economist and came across this. Pretty funny, the opening paragraphs. Hope the ISA don't show up at my doorstep tomorrow.
http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8362605
Well, happy reading!
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Ahhh...
Clarity. Finally.
Lol.
My mind seems to be functioning properly again.
Well, seems that I have a math progress test tomorrow.
For the first time, math bothers me. Bleargh.
Because at the moment I have no idea how to do anything regarding momentum and impulse, and circular motion, and simple harmonic motion. Oh, and reduction formulae.
I guess that's what I get for not bothering to do enough practice questions.
Oh well, on the bright side at least statistics is a piece of cake, and so's the rest of pure.
Anyways, it's 5 December 2006. 8 more days of school left. 20 days to Christmas. And 27 days to Passion!
Haha.
And my thought of the day:
If everyone made a resolution to never go to Alex's Million Dollar Homepage, well, he won't have a million dollars. It's the most nonsense thing I've ever heard. Why do people go there? Really. As if we never have enough of pop up ads, we go to a page full of the very adverts we want to avoid.
And he has a new scheme, to make a 2 million dollar homepage. Well he calls it Pixelotto. He charges $2 for every pixel. Takes $1 million for himself, and the other $1 million will go to some lucky person who visits the site. Of course, this is pre-tax revenue.
Let's use a bit of economics here. Do we all want to have a chance - a very miniscule one at that - of winning the $1 million, before tax? Or will we derive more satisfaction of denying Alex his $1 million by not going to his page at all after weighing it up against our slim odds of winning the $1 million? I mean the boy decides that he has enough of school, and embarks on all these hairbrain schemes of his, which really just exploits the greed and/or ignorance of everyone else, and makes money.
From something he should not even be earning a cent!
I think I'm going to start a movement here.
"Send Alex back to school!"
Nottingham University precisely.
Spread the word peopleeee. Hahaha.
Umm. Yeahhhh. Alright. Should be getting back to my math revision now.
Lol.
My mind seems to be functioning properly again.
Well, seems that I have a math progress test tomorrow.
For the first time, math bothers me. Bleargh.
Because at the moment I have no idea how to do anything regarding momentum and impulse, and circular motion, and simple harmonic motion. Oh, and reduction formulae.
I guess that's what I get for not bothering to do enough practice questions.
Oh well, on the bright side at least statistics is a piece of cake, and so's the rest of pure.
Anyways, it's 5 December 2006. 8 more days of school left. 20 days to Christmas. And 27 days to Passion!
Haha.
And my thought of the day:
If everyone made a resolution to never go to Alex's Million Dollar Homepage, well, he won't have a million dollars. It's the most nonsense thing I've ever heard. Why do people go there? Really. As if we never have enough of pop up ads, we go to a page full of the very adverts we want to avoid.
And he has a new scheme, to make a 2 million dollar homepage. Well he calls it Pixelotto. He charges $2 for every pixel. Takes $1 million for himself, and the other $1 million will go to some lucky person who visits the site. Of course, this is pre-tax revenue.
Let's use a bit of economics here. Do we all want to have a chance - a very miniscule one at that - of winning the $1 million, before tax? Or will we derive more satisfaction of denying Alex his $1 million by not going to his page at all after weighing it up against our slim odds of winning the $1 million? I mean the boy decides that he has enough of school, and embarks on all these hairbrain schemes of his, which really just exploits the greed and/or ignorance of everyone else, and makes money.
From something he should not even be earning a cent!
I think I'm going to start a movement here.
"Send Alex back to school!"
Nottingham University precisely.
Spread the word peopleeee. Hahaha.
Umm. Yeahhhh. Alright. Should be getting back to my math revision now.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Bleargh.
Woke up today with a fever and an ache. So much for not falling sick.
And since I'm feeling quite sick, my thought process is very much hampered.
The "bleargh" feeling...
But here's my thought of the day...
Nothing.
Is it possible to think about nothing?
It's quite an impossible concept to grasp. But I managed it somewhat today, until now of course. And the key is to be so caught up in routine or something else that you have no time to think.
Of course when I use the word 'think', I refer to meaningful thought, not thinking about whether to use the bathroom or eat first.
But today felt like such a waste. I felt like I've been in a stupor. I've been mentally numb, and as a result have been incapable of starting work.
How do you get started on days like these? It just feels so bleargh.
And then I realised: It's not uncommon for people to wake up some days and just feel this way.
If we fail to find meaning and purpose in our lives, we're in for a very sad existence indeed.
And since "existence" and "nothing" seem to me to be the opposite sides of the same coin, well the only way you end up thinking about nothing is when you forget about your existence.
When we get so busy or fall sick, such illness clouds our perspective. And when our perspective only focuses on the short term, it's hard to shrug off such illnesses, because they do precisely that - cloud the short term.
Take the eternal perspective I say.
Haha. This makes it a record. Two philosophical statements in two straight days. Dumb 'blearghness'.
Time to get to work. But first I must sleep. I really need to get well soon. Urgh.
And since I'm feeling quite sick, my thought process is very much hampered.
The "bleargh" feeling...
But here's my thought of the day...
Nothing.
Is it possible to think about nothing?
It's quite an impossible concept to grasp. But I managed it somewhat today, until now of course. And the key is to be so caught up in routine or something else that you have no time to think.
Of course when I use the word 'think', I refer to meaningful thought, not thinking about whether to use the bathroom or eat first.
But today felt like such a waste. I felt like I've been in a stupor. I've been mentally numb, and as a result have been incapable of starting work.
How do you get started on days like these? It just feels so bleargh.
And then I realised: It's not uncommon for people to wake up some days and just feel this way.
If we fail to find meaning and purpose in our lives, we're in for a very sad existence indeed.
And since "existence" and "nothing" seem to me to be the opposite sides of the same coin, well the only way you end up thinking about nothing is when you forget about your existence.
When we get so busy or fall sick, such illness clouds our perspective. And when our perspective only focuses on the short term, it's hard to shrug off such illnesses, because they do precisely that - cloud the short term.
Take the eternal perspective I say.
Haha. This makes it a record. Two philosophical statements in two straight days. Dumb 'blearghness'.
Time to get to work. But first I must sleep. I really need to get well soon. Urgh.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
The global problem
(This post has been edited as of 10.40pm, Malaysian time. Premature publishing occured.)
As I deduce through some brief thinking. Oh yeah, this could possibly be rated as one of those 'preach-ier' posts. I'll let you decide but don't say you weren't warned if you read anything that disturbs you greatly. Although it should. Disturb you, I mean.
Today's post may be slightly heavier than usual (except that I wonder how many really read my post from start to finish), but I'll try to keep it concise - by the way concise means to the point not just short.
Nowadays, "fundamentalism" seems like a bad word. We have "fundamentalist Islamic terrorists' who are seen as a global threat, we have "fundamentalist Christians" who are seen as a hinderance to progress, and uh yeah...that's all I can think of right now.
In a way this kind of aids my statement, that fundamentalism isn't the problem today.
Let me define fundamentalism first. Fundamentalism can be seen as a religious movement or point of view characterized by a return to fundamental principles, by rigid adherence to those principles, and often by intolerance of other views and opposition to secularism. That definition was taken off an online dictionary.
But really fundamentalism just means going back to the fundamental, the very basic principles of a faith.
Anyways, we often view fundamentalism as the problem today - it's such an emotionally charged word, especially with the media coverage it gets. In America, there was that whole Intelligent Design vs Evolution thing just this year. We have all these huge terrorist acts, such as 9/11 or the London July bombings. We blame fundamentalist groups for the instability in the Middle East - the Iraq situation, Iran, Hezbollah and the whole Lebanon-Israel issue. In Lebanon itself, things are beginning to heat up. Closer to home, there was that issue about the Muslim-Christian clashes on that Indonesian island - can't recall the name - which took place a few years back, and the purported responsible three Christians were recently executed. Then there was the 2004 Bali bombings. And all the other JI activity. And the list possibly drags on longer. Yet as much as it is possibly a problem, there is a much bigger problem out there.
It's called secularism - the abandon of God. Where man believes he writes his own story. He commands his own destiny. He fulfills his own purpose. He lives his own life.
And secularism has an infinite capacity to destroy. You only need to examine the historical record. To cite a few, we have the Crusades, the Bolshevik Revolution leading to the formation of the Soviet Union, World War 2, the rise of Communist China, 9/11, the Middle East crisis today, global poverty, e.t.c.
And the record is horrible to behold. Hundreds of millions have died as a result of secularism. Secularism, the abandon of God, has not only left its own mark, but it has distorted the very fundamental principles of God. It is the ultimate illusion, that there is no God, and the most potent weapon in the devil's arsenal.
America's disgrace today has resulted from their move towards secularism. This great nation is truly plagued with this disease, that is eating away at the very moral framework that the founding fathers built America upon. This has in turn led to many of the problems we have today, like the Middle East crisis. America (I'm referring to the government of course) has forgotten God and as a result it has made very bad choices. One was the Vietnam War. Another was the handling of the Middle East situation - which has given excuse to rising fundamentalist terrorism.
Outside of America, we have the destructive effects of Communism. Stalin's human rights record is abominable. Historians have yet to come up with an accurate calculation of the number of deaths under Stalin's rule but they estimate to be around 40 million people. And this is just limited to Stalin's reign. When we expand past that, we have the record of what poverty has done to the people living under Soviet rule for three quarters of a century. We look at Mao Ze Dong's Great Leap Forward. Yet another disaster. Estimates place the death count at 80 million, although the Chinese government states that it is lower at around 60 million.
And then we look at the issue of poverty. It is such a complicated problem to resolve as poverty has been the result of many varying factors, from internal strife, to civil wars, to war in general, to past exploitation by imperialist powers, to present exploitation by corrupt rulers, to ignorance of the root problem by richer countries. Why has this happened? Because everyone's looking out for number one.
And that brings us to the issue of...us. A lot of the people reading this probably believe in God. But big news indeed...even Satan believes in God. Yet we often see Him as this remote uncaring being, ignoring all the evils and suffering of this world, all the unfairness, all our problems.
Here's the newsflash - we caused those problems. Each and everyone of them. Because we chose to turn our backs on God. Man is full of depravity. We may be made in the image of God (which in turn puts us in a special position in creation - another article for another time), but we are evil, fallen.
And then here's the second newsflash - well God did do something. We expect a magic word to cure all of the problems today. But God saw the global problem - secularism, the sin of turning away from God.
The world is a dark place, make no doubt. Past all the pleasure and fun we enjoy, there is a greater looming darkness. You'd think me being paranoid, or being overly preachy, or being overly pessimistic, or whatever you want to call it. Yet the reality of it all is that we oftentimes choose to ignore this one overbearing fact. And continue to be trapped in the chains of our illusions.
I think I'll end this with two paragraphs regarding a favourite album of mine, by David Crowder Band titled "A Collision". Crowder writes it much better than me anyways:
"And while we yet were sinners, Christ died for us. He did not leave us alone. He stepped into our condition to bring us back to God. To bring us back to what was intended. The divine, bearing all depravity. The most horrific of collisions. The most tragic and beautiful. The breaking is glorious and loud. We have won. It might not feel like it. You might not/can't see it just yet. But the reality of our situation is that rescue is present. Every second of life is spent in the very presence of god. There is not a second of human history that He has not been present. Majesty is here. And it is coming. Finally. Just be quiet. And wait."
"I believe that we are part of a bigger story unfolding. I believe that the rescue of creation has been coming toward us for a long time. I believe that sure, there was a moment that I was found by this rescue and that I am rescued continually, but the even greater thing, the thing that expands in my chest in this moment is that there is more coming! He is coming to set things right. He is coming to set things straight. He is coming and this is tremendously hard to take in, but our hearts swell and this tide of hope grows and after all of this, after this brokenness, after these tears, after this fury, after this tearing that is life...finally, finally...we will lift up our heads...finally...and the clouds will break...and finally...He who is all light and healing... finally... finally... majesty."
As I deduce through some brief thinking. Oh yeah, this could possibly be rated as one of those 'preach-ier' posts. I'll let you decide but don't say you weren't warned if you read anything that disturbs you greatly. Although it should. Disturb you, I mean.
Today's post may be slightly heavier than usual (except that I wonder how many really read my post from start to finish), but I'll try to keep it concise - by the way concise means to the point not just short.
Nowadays, "fundamentalism" seems like a bad word. We have "fundamentalist Islamic terrorists' who are seen as a global threat, we have "fundamentalist Christians" who are seen as a hinderance to progress, and uh yeah...that's all I can think of right now.
In a way this kind of aids my statement, that fundamentalism isn't the problem today.
Let me define fundamentalism first. Fundamentalism can be seen as a religious movement or point of view characterized by a return to fundamental principles, by rigid adherence to those principles, and often by intolerance of other views and opposition to secularism. That definition was taken off an online dictionary.
But really fundamentalism just means going back to the fundamental, the very basic principles of a faith.
Anyways, we often view fundamentalism as the problem today - it's such an emotionally charged word, especially with the media coverage it gets. In America, there was that whole Intelligent Design vs Evolution thing just this year. We have all these huge terrorist acts, such as 9/11 or the London July bombings. We blame fundamentalist groups for the instability in the Middle East - the Iraq situation, Iran, Hezbollah and the whole Lebanon-Israel issue. In Lebanon itself, things are beginning to heat up. Closer to home, there was that issue about the Muslim-Christian clashes on that Indonesian island - can't recall the name - which took place a few years back, and the purported responsible three Christians were recently executed. Then there was the 2004 Bali bombings. And all the other JI activity. And the list possibly drags on longer. Yet as much as it is possibly a problem, there is a much bigger problem out there.
It's called secularism - the abandon of God. Where man believes he writes his own story. He commands his own destiny. He fulfills his own purpose. He lives his own life.
And secularism has an infinite capacity to destroy. You only need to examine the historical record. To cite a few, we have the Crusades, the Bolshevik Revolution leading to the formation of the Soviet Union, World War 2, the rise of Communist China, 9/11, the Middle East crisis today, global poverty, e.t.c.
And the record is horrible to behold. Hundreds of millions have died as a result of secularism. Secularism, the abandon of God, has not only left its own mark, but it has distorted the very fundamental principles of God. It is the ultimate illusion, that there is no God, and the most potent weapon in the devil's arsenal.
America's disgrace today has resulted from their move towards secularism. This great nation is truly plagued with this disease, that is eating away at the very moral framework that the founding fathers built America upon. This has in turn led to many of the problems we have today, like the Middle East crisis. America (I'm referring to the government of course) has forgotten God and as a result it has made very bad choices. One was the Vietnam War. Another was the handling of the Middle East situation - which has given excuse to rising fundamentalist terrorism.
Outside of America, we have the destructive effects of Communism. Stalin's human rights record is abominable. Historians have yet to come up with an accurate calculation of the number of deaths under Stalin's rule but they estimate to be around 40 million people. And this is just limited to Stalin's reign. When we expand past that, we have the record of what poverty has done to the people living under Soviet rule for three quarters of a century. We look at Mao Ze Dong's Great Leap Forward. Yet another disaster. Estimates place the death count at 80 million, although the Chinese government states that it is lower at around 60 million.
And then we look at the issue of poverty. It is such a complicated problem to resolve as poverty has been the result of many varying factors, from internal strife, to civil wars, to war in general, to past exploitation by imperialist powers, to present exploitation by corrupt rulers, to ignorance of the root problem by richer countries. Why has this happened? Because everyone's looking out for number one.
And that brings us to the issue of...us. A lot of the people reading this probably believe in God. But big news indeed...even Satan believes in God. Yet we often see Him as this remote uncaring being, ignoring all the evils and suffering of this world, all the unfairness, all our problems.
Here's the newsflash - we caused those problems. Each and everyone of them. Because we chose to turn our backs on God. Man is full of depravity. We may be made in the image of God (which in turn puts us in a special position in creation - another article for another time), but we are evil, fallen.
And then here's the second newsflash - well God did do something. We expect a magic word to cure all of the problems today. But God saw the global problem - secularism, the sin of turning away from God.
The world is a dark place, make no doubt. Past all the pleasure and fun we enjoy, there is a greater looming darkness. You'd think me being paranoid, or being overly preachy, or being overly pessimistic, or whatever you want to call it. Yet the reality of it all is that we oftentimes choose to ignore this one overbearing fact. And continue to be trapped in the chains of our illusions.
I think I'll end this with two paragraphs regarding a favourite album of mine, by David Crowder Band titled "A Collision". Crowder writes it much better than me anyways:
"And while we yet were sinners, Christ died for us. He did not leave us alone. He stepped into our condition to bring us back to God. To bring us back to what was intended. The divine, bearing all depravity. The most horrific of collisions. The most tragic and beautiful. The breaking is glorious and loud. We have won. It might not feel like it. You might not/can't see it just yet. But the reality of our situation is that rescue is present. Every second of life is spent in the very presence of god. There is not a second of human history that He has not been present. Majesty is here. And it is coming. Finally. Just be quiet. And wait."
"I believe that we are part of a bigger story unfolding. I believe that the rescue of creation has been coming toward us for a long time. I believe that sure, there was a moment that I was found by this rescue and that I am rescued continually, but the even greater thing, the thing that expands in my chest in this moment is that there is more coming! He is coming to set things right. He is coming to set things straight. He is coming and this is tremendously hard to take in, but our hearts swell and this tide of hope grows and after all of this, after this brokenness, after these tears, after this fury, after this tearing that is life...finally, finally...we will lift up our heads...finally...and the clouds will break...and finally...He who is all light and healing... finally... finally... majesty."
"When our depravity meets His divinity it is a beautiful collision"
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Time travel
Ingredients needed: A very fast plane.
Here's the hypothetical situation. Let's say I leave Malaysia at 6am in the morning. And my plane travels at the speed of time, westward.
Whoa. How does that work? Travelling at the speed of time?
Well since time as we know it is defined by man, and since we define it using the GMT system, the plane would really just need to travel at that GMT speed. So in other words we trap ourselves at 6am.
And there we go flying around the world.
Whoa - you've made human time stand still - although your biological clock is still ticking away.
Then here's where it gets complicated. I'm still trying to figure out whether this really happens.
Supposed I travel at the GMT speed. And then I reach the international deadline. How fun. What happens at this point?
I assume we will travel into the future. It's still 6am but the next day. All in the space of a nanosecond.
And voila - time travel!
Here's the hypothetical situation. Let's say I leave Malaysia at 6am in the morning. And my plane travels at the speed of time, westward.
Whoa. How does that work? Travelling at the speed of time?
Well since time as we know it is defined by man, and since we define it using the GMT system, the plane would really just need to travel at that GMT speed. So in other words we trap ourselves at 6am.
And there we go flying around the world.
Whoa - you've made human time stand still - although your biological clock is still ticking away.
Then here's where it gets complicated. I'm still trying to figure out whether this really happens.
Supposed I travel at the GMT speed. And then I reach the international deadline. How fun. What happens at this point?
I assume we will travel into the future. It's still 6am but the next day. All in the space of a nanosecond.
And voila - time travel!
Friday, December 01, 2006
Mmmm...
Havent had much time to think about today's post, what with the SAT Subject Tests and all.
And the irony is that I'm getting discouraged by the convoluted process of US applications. Bleargh.
But don't worry I always have something on my mind.
Today's subject looks to be slightly more philosophical:
"Is there a reason for everything?"
OK. I'm typing this at 10:37 pm at night. I have to be up by 6 tomorrow. And this is going to be one of those long ones if I dont limit myself here.
So here's my answer: Yes. Almost. Until you step out of the 'box'. There you will find a 'universal constant ' that gives reason to everything. The irony is that for there to be a reason for everything, you need to have faith in this one unexplainable 'universal constant'. Which beggars the secondary question of whether faith and reason are really paradoxical concepts.
Haha. No time to elaborate on that yet.
But you can think about it.
And the irony is that I'm getting discouraged by the convoluted process of US applications. Bleargh.
But don't worry I always have something on my mind.
Today's subject looks to be slightly more philosophical:
"Is there a reason for everything?"
OK. I'm typing this at 10:37 pm at night. I have to be up by 6 tomorrow. And this is going to be one of those long ones if I dont limit myself here.
So here's my answer: Yes. Almost. Until you step out of the 'box'. There you will find a 'universal constant ' that gives reason to everything. The irony is that for there to be a reason for everything, you need to have faith in this one unexplainable 'universal constant'. Which beggars the secondary question of whether faith and reason are really paradoxical concepts.
Haha. No time to elaborate on that yet.
But you can think about it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)